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Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939) Movie vs Book
Film · 1939 · Directed by Richard Thorpe · Starring Mickey Rooney, Walter Connolly, Rex Ingram
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939) Movie: Cast and Details
A runaway boy and an escaped man travel down the Mississippi River on a raft.
Book vs Movie: How Close Is It?
Loosely based on the bookIt is a lighter, shorter family film that keeps the river journey but leaves out much of the novel's sharp social commentary.
Read or watch first?
Read the book for Twain's voice and satire. Watch the film as a quick, old-fashioned adventure.
What the book gives you
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
A lively river journey that is also a serious book. Its language and attitudes reflect its time, so a good edition with notes helps.
Who will like it: Readers who want a classic American adventure and are ready for its hard questions about race.